Repercussions
by Eilonwyn
Summary: Set after the end of "Lost Boy." With Mr. Smith still short of functional, the side effects of the PHAROS headset put Luke in mortal danger. Sarah Jane will do anything to save her son...but her opponent is the last person she would ever have expected.
1. Chapter 1

**Wow. Double update. Whoops, note to self, proofread the first time.**

**Anyway, I don't think there's enough SJA fanfics at the moment, so I'm writing my own. Set the day after the events of "The Lost Boy."**

Sarah Jane Smith was just getting up from having made herself a nice, beautifully calm breakfast when she heard a light rapping on her door. She smiled. "Come in," she called.

A few seconds later, there was a girl standing in her doorway, grinning at her. "Hello, Maria," she said, smiling back. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes, thanks," said Maria, spotting Sarah Jane's dishes and helping her to gather them up before she could ask. "Dad brought doughnuts."

"Oh. That's unusual, isn't it?"

"It's his way of apologizing for not being at home all day today," said Maria, shrugging. "He's got a big important meeting or something. I don't really mind. I figured I might be able to hang out today some. Does that bother you?"

"Oh no, not at all. In fact, it's especially nice after the sort of crises we've had happen lately. It's good to remember that not every outing is a catastrophe."

The phone rang, and Sarah Jane smiled apologetically as she moved to pick it up. Maria grinned again.

"Hello? Oh, hello, Clyde. Yes, of course. I'll ask him, but I don't think he's quite ready yet. I'll have him call you when he sets out, all right? Good. Don't bother your mother while you're waiting. Yes, I'll get him ready soon. All right. Bye."

"Clyde?" Maria asked as Sarah Jane hung up the phone.

"Clyde. You know, I think he's determined to have Luke living as normally as possible. It's a good thing, too - I don't know anything about being normal, especially not these days."

Maria shrugged. "After all these aliens and saving the world all the time, neither does he," she pointed out. "But where's Luke?"

"He's sleeping in," said Sarah Jane with a smile.

"Really?" said Maria, shocked. "But Luke never - "

"I know, but I expect he'll be tired for a couple of days, after using all that telekinetic energy. Besides, I caught him up late last night, working on Mr. Smith."

"I thought you said he just needed to reboot."

"Well, he does, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Anyway, how do you feel about waking Luke up? Clyde's waiting for him to meet him at the park. I wonder what he's up to this time."

"I think he's trying to teach Luke hacky sack or something."

Sarah Jane raised an eyebrow. "Hacky sack?"

Maria laughed. "He said he's running low on sports to try on Luke. Apparently he's good at hacky sack, so Clyde thinks there might be a chance this time." Maria started up the stairs. "Anyway, I'll go get him."

"Good, I'll start on toast. It shouldn't be too difficult to wake him; he's a light sleeper."

"All right, then." Maria said, and headed up the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

Maria reached the door to Luke's room. Downstairs she could faintly hear a click from Sarah Jane's toaster.

She knocked softly on the door. "Luke," she called. "Come on, Sarah Jane says it's time to wake up. Clyde's waiting for you."

She listened at the door, but didn't hear anything. "All right. I'm coming in," she warned more loudly. She was sure that if Luke was awake, he would have heard her, so she opened the door and looked inside.

Luke's room looked much like it always did - a sort of miniature version of Sarah Jane's attic, with sheets of paper and paraphernalia (some of it alien) scattered across the room. The curtains were open, with sunlight spilling into the room.

One thing, though, she had never seen before: Luke was still lying asleep in the sunshine, with his eyes shut tightly and his hair in complete disarray. Maria smiled, biting her lip. They said people looked different when they were sleeping, but Luke looked exactly the same as he did when he was awake.

"Luke?" she asked again, moving over to his bed. Sarah Jane certainly had a strange definition of a light sleeper, she thought. He still didn't acknowledge her, or even move. She stood at the head of the bed, staring at him and blocking his light.

"Luke." He still didn't answer, so she gently poked him. Nothing.

She looked at him more carefully, concerned. He looked paler than usual, she thought; his skin contrasted sharply with his dark hair, even in daylight. And if she squinted, she could make out the beginning of shadows under his eyes.

She grabbed his shoulder and shook it gently. "Luke. Luke!"

After several seconds, he tighteed and his eyes slid open. For a second, he stared up at her with a blank look on his face she thought she recognized. "Luke - "

His expression cleared. "Hello, Maria." He looked around at the brightness of the room in evident surprise. "What time is it?"

"Late morning," said Maria. Luke looked even more surprised, and she smiled, amused. "Sarah Jane's making you breakfast. You're supposed to call Clyde when you're ready to meet him at the park."

He blinked, still looking slightly lost. "All right.."

"Good. I'll tell Sarah Jane - " Suddenly Luke's door swung open with a bang, sending a few papers flying. Maria spun to face the door, but there was nobody there. She hurried out into the hallway, looking around. "What was that, a draft?" she asked. "There's nobody up here but us."

"But this house doesn't have drafts," said Luke, confused. "How did I not hear you come up here?"

"You must have been really asleep. Anyway, I'll go tell Sarah Jane you're up." Maria walked out of the room and back down the stairs.

She found Sarah Jane in the kitchen, buttering toast. "Well, he's awake," she said.

Sarah Jane raised her eyebrows. "Normally I wouldn't expect it to take that long."

"Well, he didn't want to wake up."

"Really? That's odd. Luke's normally the lightest of sleepers. Almost anything wakes him up. "

"Not this time. He seems pretty tired."

"Well, that's to be expected, I suppose." Sarah Jane set down the plate of toast on the table and moved to the sitting room, settling in her favorite chair as Maria curled up on the couch. "So, if the boys rare off playing in the park, what are you planning to do?"

"I don't know," Maria admitted. "I don't have any homework, and Dad doesn't get home until almost five, he said. Must be a really long meeting." She shrugged. "What are you going to do?"

Sarah Jane smiled. "Oh, I don't' have anything in particular planned. "But I've been meaning to re-calibrate my telescope for that meteor shower due next week...nothing complicated, just routine maintenance. But I cold use some help, if you'd like."

Maria smiled gratefully. "Sure! Thanks!"

"Don't mention it."

Luke poked his head around the doorframe. "Hey, Mum." He was holding the plate of toast in one hand and was dressed in his usual jeans and a t-shirt as he came in and sat on the couch on the other side of Maria. One of his slices of toast had already disappeared, and he started working on the other. Maria noted that he still ate very quickly and efficiently.

"How are you feeling Luke?" Sarah Jane asked concernedly. He just shrugged in reply, bent on finishing his breakfast. She smiled. "All right, looks like you'll be done in a second. I'll call Clyde and tell him you're on your way, shall I?" she started to get up for the phone on the other side of the room.

Suddenly, though, the phone threw itself across the room, landing on the table beside her.

All three of them jumped violently, Luke's now-empty plate landing on the floor with a thump. He carefully picked it up as Sarah Jane reached for the phone and examined it. "That's odd," she murmured.

"Luke's door was acting weird too, just now," Maria commented. "It banged open when there was nobody there."

"Can I see that?" asked Luke, setting his plate down on his seat and moving over to Sarah Jane. He took the phone and turned it over in his hands, examining it.

"Very odd," said Sarah Jane again, frowning. "I wonder what - "

"Mum, look!" Sarah Jane turned to Luke. The phone was turning itself over and over in midair over his hands, with no support.

"Luke, move away!" she said sharply. "It might be dangerous."

"No, it isn't," said Luke, and the phone dropped into his waiting hands. "It's me. I can still move things with my mind."

"Oh, wow," said Maria.

Sarah Jane seemed to agree with that sentiment. "Residual telekinetic powers," she murmured, astonished.

"Isn't it cool?" Luke sent the phone flying down on the table again and moved his plate so it floated above his palms as he moved to put it away.

Maria and Sarah Jane stared at each other blankly as he returned plateless into the room. Then Sarah Jane seemed to pull herself together. "It's probably only temporary," she warned, "and likely harmless. Be careful, though; it probably isn't a good idea to keep trying to move things like that. Think if someone saw you. Besides, we don't know if it's safe. Just be cautious, all right?"

Luke nodded. "Sure, mum." He took the phone again and dialed, waited a second, then said "Hi, Clyde, it's Luke. I'm headed over to the park now. Yeah, see you there," and hung up. He turned to Maria. "Are you coming?"

"I said I'd help Sarah Jane with the telescope," said Maria, smiling slightly.

"Okay. Goodbye." Luke headed out the door.

"Goodbye, Luke, have fun," Sarah Jane called after him as it shut. She turned to Maria. "Now, let's see about that telescope, shall we?"


	3. Chapter 3

Luke was still a few blocks from the park when he saw Clyde rolling down the street on his skateboard towards him. "Hello, Clyde," he called.

Clyde waved, then jumped off his skateboard as he came level with Luke, tucking it under his arm and taking off his helmet with his other hand.

"So, where were you?" he asked as they headed off in a slightly different direction to the way Clyde had come.

"Sleeping in. It's weird - I've never done that before."

Clyde grinned. "Starting to show your full potential. I would've slept in, too, but Mum had me up early. Hang on."

Clyde grabbed Luke's arm as they reached the corner. "Sorry," he said, looking awkward. "Mum always makes me promise to be really careful on this street."

"Why?" asked Luke, puzzled.

"Well, look at it. Blind corner - not even a stop sign. Mum says it's a death trap. And the 'children at play' sign's practically invisible." Clyde pointed out a sign that was indeed submerged in ivy on the brick wall that obscured the corner.

"But...people around here would know that," Luke pointed out. "They'd know to be careful."

"Yeah, but strangers wouldn't. Come on." They crossed the street and headed across the park, avoiding the impromptu football game that had been started by a group of what appeared to be five- and six-year-olds. Instead, they went uphill to the picnic benches.

"Can I see the ball?" asked Luke as they passed by.

"Hacky sack. Sure." Clyde handed it to him, annoyed and amused. Luke tossed it in his palm once or twice, looking it over.

"It's just a hacky sack."

"I know. But now I can do this." the small ball left Luke's palm, circled around Clyde's head, and landed back in Luke's hand. He held it up to Clyde. "See?"

"Whoa. Let me see that." Clyde took the hacky sack and examined it carefully, as though looking for a motor.

"It's just a hacky sack," Luke said, laughing.

"How did you - "

"Mum says it's residual telekinetic energies. From that PHAROS headset thing."

"Creepy."

Luke shrugged. "I think it's cool."

"I guess," said Clyde cautiously. "But don't cheat playing, all right?"

"Of course not."

"So where's Maria, anyway?"

"She's helping Sarah Jane work on the telescope."

Clyde shrgged. "Cool. She's not very into hacky sack, is she?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh, well. More for us then." They reached a space between the picnic table and started to play.

Luke was beginning to improve, Clyde thought, albeit slowly. The game was relatively simple for him to work out, with that super brain of his. He could predict where the footbag would go when it was hit. Unfortunately, his coordination needed work. He still frequently missed the sack entirely, or sent it flying. Clyde wasn't excellent at the game, either, and between them they could never keep the game going for longer than twenty seconds.

However, the spaces between rounds were shortened considerably by Luke's new ability.

"OK, that is freaking me out," said Clyde as Luke plucked the footbag from the air for the dozenth time.

"Why? I'm getting better at it."

"That doesn't stop it from being weird."

"But it's convenient. It means we can keep playing faster." Luke picked up the hacky sack from the air and weighed it in his hand, looking at Clyde. "So that means it's a good thing, doesn't it?"

"That's just it, though, because I keep getting the feeling it isn't."

"But, it's helpful."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So what's the problem?" Luke looked amused.

"Whatever. I don't know." He looked at the hacky sack in Luke's hand. "Well, serve it, then."

Luke served the hacky sack, and the two of them passed it back and forth, again and again...Clyde grinned. "This is great! We've never done it this long before!"

Abruptly, the small ball froze in midair between them. Clyde looked up and Luke, annoyed. "What was that for? We were in the middle of - "

"Look!" Luke exclaimed, pointing, and Clyde turned around. From their high vantage point, they could see around the corner they had crossed on the way to the park.

Clyde noticed car was moving a little too fast around the corner. "See, mum was right. So?"

Luke didn't answer, too intent on watching the scene. Then the football they had seen earlier flashed into the street, and a child darted after it.

"Oh no," Clyde whispered. Now he, too, could see what was coming.

The car rounded the corner. Its horn blared as the child came into view. She froze, as though trying to decide which way to run. The car was braking, but there was no time, and even if the girl started running now she wouldn't be able to get away, and the car was going to hit -

Suddenly, the car stopped. For a second, it froze completely, then the engine cut and the car rocked backwards a few inches on its brakes.

"That was close," said Clyde in relief, then frowned. "Wait a minute, though. What just happened there? That shouldn't have been possible. Not that it's a bad thing, but - that was you, Luke, wasn't it? That is so cool!" He looked over his shoulder at Luke, grinning, and then froze in shock.

Luke's eyes were shut, and his face had gone white. As Clyde watched, he swayed and collapsed limply to the ground.

"Luke? Luke!!"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Oh geez. Sorry sorry sorry for the ridiculously long wait! Aagh! I can't believe it's been this long. Shame on me. I've actually forgotten what I've written... . Still, I will finish this. (Someday.) Promise.**

"Hand me my lipstick, will you, Maria?" asked Sarah Jane, reaching a hand over her shoulder.

"What, doesn't that count as cheating or something?" Maria teased, handing her the sonic lipstick.

"I don't think taking advantage of what's available counts as cheating," Sarah Jane retorted, buzzing the screwdriver up into the partially-disassembled telescope. "Hang on... there!" she said happily, as some part of the telescope _shunk_ed into place. "Great. That's the last one. Now we just have to get the eyepiece and the rest of it reattached, and - "

The phone rang, once, then again.

Sarah Jane got up, rolling her eyes. "It just isn't my day for phones today."

"It bet it's Clyde," said Maria, grinning.

"Oh, I doubt that," said Sarah Jane lightly. "What reason would he have to call at this time of day?"

Maria shrugged as Sarah Jane picked up the phone.

"Hello?" said Sarah Jane. Her eyes widened. "What? What's - no, slow down, I can't - look, never mind. Where are you? All right, we're coming." She hung up the phone and turned to Maria. "Come on, we're going."

"Where?" asked Maria, bewildered.

"To the park," said Sarah Jane as Maria followed her down the stairs. "Something's happened. Clyde wasn't very clear, but... something about Luke."

They reached the car and slid in. "What about Luke?" asked Maria, confused.

"I don't know!" Sarah Jane snapped, then stopped herself, taking a deep breath. "Whatever it is, we're going to go find out."

***

It took Maria and Sarah Jane only a few minutes to reach the park by car. Sarah Jane spotted a car parked clumsily at the side of the street, with an unfamiliar young man talking to a little girl who was being held tightly by her mother. All three of them looked shaken.

"It looks like there was almost an accident," Sarah Jane muttered to Maria, her journalist instincts kicking in with stress. Maria looked at her, confused, but at that moment they were distracted.

"Sarah Jane!" Clyde called desperately, waving down at them from the top of the hill. "Up here!"

Sarah Jane grabbed Maria's hand, and the two of them ran up the hill to reach Clyde.

"Now, tell me slowly and clearly," said Sarah Jane in her best calming journalist voice. "What happened?"

Maria, though, was looking over Clyde's shoulder. "Luke!" she cried, running over to where the boy was lying.

Sarah Jane lost her train of though entirely as she spotted her son. "Oh, no..." She hurried after Maria and knelt on Luke's other side, touching his hair softly.

Clyde walked over to stand to one side, trying to explain what had happened. "We were just playing, and then this car came barreling around the corner. It was about to hit this little kid. She didn't have a chance to get out of the way. But Luke saved her. He saved both of them, actually - the car looked like it was about to spin out or something. And he just stopped it. Just, you know...stopped."

Sarah Jane turned to look at him. "He stopped a _car?_" she asked, her voice breaking.

Clyde nodded. "And then he just collapsed."

"I'm not surprised. The amount of energy required to stop such a large object, without hurting the driver, at such a distance, without the headset? No normal person could have done it. It would kill them to try."

"I don't think he even thought about it," Clyde muttered. "He's so used to saving things. He just jumped in."

Sarah Jane turned back to Luke, stroking his face gently with one hand. Except for the almost imperceptible movement of his chest up and down, Luke didn't move at all. Her chest felt as though it was painfully constricted by the pain and fear that gripped her. It had almost felt like this when Luke had been taken away from her the first time, when she had thought she would never be allowed to see her son again. But that pain hadn't been anywhere near as immediate. What if - no, she would not let herself think it - but _what if..._

A hand squeezed her shoulder, and Sarah Jane looked up with frightened eyes to see Maria looking at her, her expression worried and determined at the same time. "Come on, Sarah Jane," she urged. "Two kinds of people in the world, remember?"

Sarah Jane nodded and stood up. "Right. Come on, you two. We need to get LUke back to the house. Maybe Mr. Smith can help."

"But Mr. Smith's - " Maria began.

"Still might be able to help," Sarah Jane cut her off firmly. "I'll go get the car." She hurried off. "Wait there!"

Maria and Clyde stared at each other as she left, then suddenly Maria dug her phone out of her pocked and pressed a couple of buttons before holding it to her ear.

"What are you doing?" Clyde asked.

"Leaving a message for my dad," said Maria. "He's at a meeting, but - "

"Hello?" Her father's voice answered.

"Dad!" exclaimed Maria, her voice squeaking slightly in surprise. "It thought you had a meeting!"

"So did I," he said, sounding annoyed. "They cancelled it at the last minute. Apparently one of the presenters called in sick today. I'm headed home now."

Maria sighed in relief. "Dad, I need you to get home as soon as you can. I'll be at Sarah Jane's."

"Maria, that's your 'something's-very-very-wrone' tone," said Alan warily. "What's happened?"

"Something's happened to Luke, and Sarah Jane's freaking out. We could really use some help." Clyde nudged her at that moment and pointed out Sarah Jane getting out of the car which was now as close as she could get it to where they stood. "All right, dad, I've gotta go. 'Bye," she said quickly.

"All right - " said Alan dubiously before Maria snapped her phone shut and shoved it back into her pocket.

Sarah Jane came up to them. "Right then. Help me get him into the car, will you?"

This was easier said than done. In the end, Sarah Jane carried LUke under the arms, while Clyde and Maria held onto one ankle each.

"That can't be comfortable," Maria murmured, looking down at Luke. His blank expression hadn't changed. She took hold of Luke's other ankle while Clyde opened the car door. Awkwardly, they put Luke inside. As Sarah Jane moved to the other side of the car to orient him more comfortably, Clyde turned to Maria.

"What were you talking about to Sarah Jane back there?" he asked her quietly, curious.

"Nothing," said Maria. Just something she told me the first time I thought the world was about to end."

After some more effort, the three of them managed to get Luke into a secure and relatively comfortable-looking position. Sarah Jane sighed and rand her hands over her face. Maria could tell she was still struggling to keep her composure.

"All right," said Clyde, "I'm gone."

Sarah Jane turned to look at him. "Are you sure, Clyde?" she asked. Her instinct to over-mother everyone was still very intact, Clyde thought.

"Yeah. I don't want to get in the way, and there's no room in the car, anyway. I've got my skateboard. You can call me if you need me or anything, all right?" He said, waving his cell phone.

"All right," said Maria uncertainly. "'Bye."

"'Bye." He turned to retrieve his skateboard.

Maria felt a little awkward that Clyde felt uncomfortable about the situation, and wondered whether he felt uncomfortable or whether he was just scared to see Sarah Jane so flustered. But she could see where he was coming from. The only reason she herself wasn't turning tail and leaving, too, was that she knew that Sarah Jane needed her. She wasn't going to leave her on her own, not to mention Luke. She was terrified of what might happen to him and didn't want to leave. She had a strange feeling something terrible was going to happen, or worse, might already be happening.

The three of them drove back to 13 Bannerman Road in silence, Sarah Jane driving agonizingly carefully in order to make sure Luke didn't fall.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry, I meant to put this up sooner, but I kept being like, "Oh, I'll work on it tomorrow," and now it's been longer than I meant it to be. But hey, it's still better than last time, right? Right?**

Maria couldn't believe this was happening. Hadn't Sarah Jane said just that morning something about the chaos being over? And now Luke was in danger again, not by his own choice even though he had volunteered each time for what had happened to him. Clyde was right; Luke was too used saving the world, to giving whatever was needed. He was selfless. In just a year - he was still so young, it still surprised Maria whenever she thought about it - he had already become so much a part of their lives that they wondered how they had ever got on without him - Maria and Clyde with their homework, and Sarah Jane with her various exploits, living in her house, working with Mr. Smith...

He wasn't perfect, but he was the best friend Maria had ever had. She knew he had also quickly become an integral part of Sarah Jane's life. The two were even closer than a normal mother and son, and Maria had seen numerous times the fierce mothering instinct Sarah Jane had developed towards Luke. While Maria was worried about Luke, Maria was almost more worried for Sarah Jane.

She twisted around in her seat to look at Luke. He might have been a little less pale, breathing a little less shallowly, but Maria couldn't be sure.

"Shouldn't we take him to a hospital or something?" she she asked, trying to break the tense silence that seemed to be building.

"We can't," said Sarah Jane matter-of-factly. "I've never taken Luke to a doctor's office in his life - he doesn't even have an official medical record. At this point, it probably isn't safe to have the authorities find about about Luke, for his sake. Besides, it's unlikely they'd be able to help. Now, the best chance we have of helping Luke is doing what we can for him here, with what we have, and hoping for the best. Who knows? He may just recover on his own."

They fell silent again as they turned onto Bannerman Road. Maria watched the houses crawl by. There was no sign of a car in front of her house - though she really hadn't expected one this fast - so her dad wasn't back yet. She hoped he would show up soon, even though she didn't know how it would help. After all, she didn't know what any of them could do at this point, and it would make her feel better to have him nearby.

Sarah Jane carefully stopped the car in the driveway as close to the door as she could get, moving to the front door and opening it before working with Maria to get Luke out of the car. Without Clyde, it was harder.

"Where are we taking him?" gasped Maria a they maneuvered Luke up the stairs and through the door.

"Just inside...unless you want to try getting him up the stairs," Sarah Jane answered.

"There has got to be a better way of moving him around," Maria muttered.

"Well," said Sarah Jane, sounding frayed, "I'm fresh out of stretchers, sorry."

They managed to get Luke around the maze of furniture than was Sarah Jane's house, and onto the couch. His legs were too long to fit, so they lifted them over the edge. They dangled.

"That still can't be comfortable," murmured Maria.

"You stay here and keep an eye on him," said Sarah Jane. "I'm going to go see what technology can tell us." She disappeared up the stairs. Maria sat in a chair and watched Luke. She still couldn't tell if anything had changed, but she wondered if it was normal for a human to remain unconscious for so long. All the first aid she had gone over in school seemed to have disappeared the moment she needed it. She wasn't sure if it was applicable anyway.

Sarah Jane came clattering down the stairs with a handful of bizarre-looking gadgets in her hands. "Everything from stethoscopes to alien species diagnostics in this lot," she said, depositing it on the table. "Let's see what we can't find."

Maria turned over piece after piece of bizarre-looking and probably alien technology. "What _is_ this stuff?"

"Frankly, I'm not entirely sure," Sarah Jane admitted. "I have no idea what some of this does. I only brought it down just in case. What I was really looking for was this." She held up her watch. "Quite silly of me, not to put it on this morning. I should have known it was tempting fate."

She opened her watch and pointed it at Luke. "Come on...what's wrong with you?" she demanded, tapping it impatiently. "Species, human. Thank you. That took a while." She pressed a button and squinted at the screen again. "I wonder why it's being so slow..." she muttered. "There we go. Heart rate - slightly depressed, but still within average...same on breath rate per minute...neural activity a little low, but still reasonable for deep sleep levels." She shrugged. "According to this, he should be fine."

Maria shook her head, smiling. "That watch of yours is amazing."

"Yes, I've been very glad to had it," said Sarah Jane. "We're lucky it works without Mr. Smith running."

There was a light rapping on the door. Maria stood up. "I'll get it."

She opened the door to see Alan standing on the doorstep uncertainly. "Dad!" She ran forward and hugged him.

"Whoa there," he said, hugging her back. They pulled apart after a few seconds and he put a hand on her shoulder. "Now, what's going on?"

"Luke used too much telekinetic energy at once or something," Maria tried to explain. "I don't really know what happened, but something weird..." She poked her head into the living room. "Sarah Jane, Dad's here."

"Tell him to come on in," she said sportingly. The fact that Luke was apparently running all systems normal seemed to have calmed her down considerably.

Alan followed Maria into the living room. "I thought you were going to say he'd been kidnapped by aliens or something." Then he spotted Luke, and his eyes widened. "That definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Is he all right?"

Sarah Jane pressed her hands together nervously, her fingers twining and untwining. "I think so, but I'm not entirely sure. The basic scans show up relatively normal..." She slammed her hands down on her lap, frustrated. "How _could_ he have been so foolish?"

"It wasn't his fault," Maria pointed out.

"Still, he could have been more careful!"

"What actually did happen?" asked Alan.

"He used his telekinetic powers to stop a car accident," said Sarah Jane. "He probably saved at least one life in the process, but - "

"Hold on a minute," Alan interjected, incredulous. "He stopped a car?"

"Exactly," said Maria.

"I don't expect he'll be able to do something like it again, though," Sarah Jane added. "After that sort of trauma, any of Luke's residual telekinetic abilities will be gone for good. Probably for the best - "

As she spoke, Luke's eyelids fluttered and one of his hands twitched. Sarah Jane scrambled off her chair to kneel beside him, while Maria and Alan stood slightly off to one side, concerned but awkward.

Luke's eyes fluttered again and then opened.

"Luke? Luke, are you all right?" Sarah Jane asked, anxious.

To Maria, Luke's eyes seemed once again to be strangely blank. His expression was one of empty bewilderment as his gaze flashed from one side of the room to the other, not recognizing anything.

For a moment, as he looked up at the faces he couldn't remember, all Luke knew was that he had to run.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry, the cutoff's a little awkward, but this was going to be a monster if I let it go any longer.**

Luke's eyes shut again, and he shuddered. Sarah Jane put a hand on his arm. "Luke, can you hear me?"

"He looked like that before," said Maria. "Wait a second."

Luke's eyes opened again, and as his gaze met Maria's his expression cleared. She smiled at him, and he smiled back for a second before turning to Sarah Jane. "Hello, Mum."

"Luke!" Sarah Jane cried, hugging him tightly. "How are you?"

"I'm all right, I think," he said. Sarah Jane released him gently, and he pushed himself upright. "For a second, I didn't recognize you," he added. Maria thought he sounded scared. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" asked Sarah Jane, putting her arm around him.

Luke frowned, concentrating. "I remember seeing the car coming, and knowing I had to stop it...and then I was here." He looked at his adopted mother pleadingly. "I knew there was a more elegant solution, but there wasn't any time. Was the driver all right? I tried to stop all the car at once, but...it was difficult."

"Everyone's all right," said Sarah Jane, squeezing him with her arm. "I saw the driver talking with the girl and her mother. They're all fine."

Luke grinned. "That's good."

Maria came over and sat on the edge of the couch. The three of them just sat there for a moment, smiling for a moment.

Then Sarah Jane sprung up. "All right. Come on, then."

Luke stared at her. "Where?"

"Upstairs. I want Mr. Smith to perform some more comprehensive scanning on you. This," she said, waving her watch, "only goes so far." She held out her hand for Luke.

He took it and stood up shakily, looking as though his knees were about to give way. Maria stood up quickly beside him, grabbing his elbow. Sarah Jane took the other. Luke said nothing, seemingly focused on staying upright. Maria was forcibly reminded of the day they fought the Bane, when Ms. Wormwood had used her ring to try to kill Luke. She remembered running down the corridors of the exploding factory, holding his hand, supporting him. He had had the same expression on his face.

From the tone of Sarah Jane's voice, she remembered, too. "All right, you two. Come on. Mr. Smith."

They headed out of the room, leaving Alan standing awkwardly in the corner of the room. After a second, he shrugged and followed them upstairs.

Sarah Jane and Maria got Luke through the attic door and stared at the mess of wires and circuits strewn across the floor that was, apparently, Mr. Smith. They looked at each other and shrugged. "Mr. Smith, we need you," they chorused.

Nothing happened.

"There used to be a manual power switch somewhere," Sarah Jane muttered to herself, letting go of Luke and stepping into the morass of electrical equipment.

"It's under the primary circuit, by the object scanner," said Luke helpfully. "There's a little 1 and 0 on either side."

Sarah Jane rooted around under what had been Mr. Smith's keyboard/console. "Ah. Here it is. Thanks, Luke." There was a clicking sound. A few seconds later, the traditional picture came onto the screen. Or was it? The crystal pattern was gone, Maria noticed; in its place was an abstract swirl of what the shapes had once been, with the same benign color scheme. "That's different," she commented, raising her eyebrows.

Sarah Jane stood back from Mr. Smith and pursed her lips. "You're right. It is. Oh well, it's only to be expected, I suppose. It'll do. Now Luke, do you know if the audial command function is working?"

Luke shrugged. "It should be. Most of his settings should still be normal - I'm pretty sure I got all the backups downloaded back into his memory."

"Indeed," said Mr. Smith suddenly, "All systems seem to be functioning normally."

Sarah Jane clapped her hands together. "Yes! Oh, well done, Mr. Smith! But what about the Zylock? What do you remember?"

"I am aware of the events that have occurred and all the data I have collected since before this mechanical housing was built for me," said Mr. Smith. "However, I have no memory of being the Zylock, nor of planning to destroy the earth, as my former self apparently judged it unwise to record his plans and motivations on a medium that could be recovered by other machines. My sole purpose now is to protect the Earth."

"Excellent. And are all your scanners functioning correctly?" inquired Sarah Jane.

"Yes," said Mr. Smith, sounding mildly insulted that she would have to ask.

"Even better. Would you scan Luke, please?" she asked.

"Certainly. What is the purpose of the scan?"

"Full comprehensive check, please," said Sarah Jane, taking Luke's hand and pulling him forward.

"Very well. Stand still, Luke. Sarah Jane, please step away. The scan will only take a few seconds."

Sarah Jane stepped carefully away from Mr. Smith.

"This won't hurt at all, Luke," said Mr. Smith.

"I know that," said Luke. "You said that the last time."

Mr. Smith didn't respond. Instead, a ray of light shot out and ran up and down Luke, from his shoes to the crown of his head, before vanishing again.

Mr. Smith's voice came distantly out to them. "Processing." There was a light whining and beeping noise coming from the depths of the giant supercomputer.

"That sounds like it might take a while," Sarah Jane commented.

"You did ask for a comprehensive scan," said Maria.

"I suppose," said Sarah Jane, watching the numbers and patterns flickering across the screen.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Again, a little bit of an awkward cutoff, but whatever. Now, as soon as actually lets me log in **_**and**_** publish, I can post...**

Maria came forward to Luke, wrapping her arm around his waist. He didn't move much, but suddenly she was supporting a good deal of his weight. It was obvious that he was still very weak.

Sarah Jane seemed to be thinking the same thing as she turned to look at Luke. "And I think you should go to bed."

Luke wanted to protest this. "But Mum - "

She came over and took Maria's place, raising her eyebrows at how much support he was taking. "Now."

Maria moved to take Luke's hand and jumped. "Ow!" she cried suddenly, shaking her hand at the wrist.

"What?" asked Sarah Jane.

"Nothing," she said uncertainly. "He just must have shocked me or something." she took Luke's hand and arm again, gingerly this time, and winced slightly.

"Sorry," said Luke awkwardly. "It could be residual energy from the scan..."

Sarah Jane shook her head. "It doesn't work that way, Luke. It was probably just a static shock."

"It didn't feel like that, though," Luke argued. "I felt it too. Like a burn, almost." He raised Maria's hand and turned it over. There was a red welt on it. "It burned her," he said, showing Sarah Jane. "Electricity doesn't normally do that."

Maria snatched her hand away, embarrassed, but Sarah Jane took it herself and examined it. "It certainly does look like a burn," she admitted. "What sort of energy does Mr. Smith use in his scan?"

Luke paused. "I...I don't remember."

Sarah Jane froze. "You remember everything, Luke. You told me that you have absolutely perfect recall."

"I do. I did," said Luke worriedly. "But I don't remember. I don't know why."

They stood together for a moment in silence, processing this. Had something happened to affect Luke's memory?

"What was that number?" Sarah Jane asked suddenly. "The frequency you used to defeat the Bane. Mr. Smith recited it, and you remembered it perfectly. What was it?"

Luke shut his eyes, concentrating, then shook his head. "I remember it...but I don't. I can't see it. It isn't there. I don't even remember the pain when the woman used the bad thing on me."

Sarah Jane and Maria stared at each other, worried. "What was her name, Luke?" Maria asked, taking his hand again. "The evil woman, the one who created you, the one in charge. Do you remember her name?"

Luke shut his eyes tighter, then opened them and shook his head. "No. I can't. I can't remember anything anymore. It's all gone!"

Maria looked at Sarah Jane, at a loss for words.

"We're going to fix it," said Sarah Jane. "Whatever's happened, I'm sure we can work it all out. You said before you couldn't remember us, Luke, but then you did. If you relax, it could all come back."

"But what if it doesn't?" asked Luke desperately. "What if I forget everything - even you?" Maria could feel him shaking.

"Oh, Luke!" cried Sarah Jane, hugging him. She stared into his eyes, her hands on his shoulders. "Now, listen to me. Everything's going to be all right. We'll find out what's wrong, and we'll fix it. You are my son, and I am _not_ going to let _anything_ happen to you. All right?"

Luke nodded, but his eyes seemed too bright. "All right, mum."

"Good. Come on, bed. Maria, you go run tap water over that burn."

Maria rolled her eyes. "It's fine," she said. "I want to help."

"No, it's all right. Alan, will you help me?"

"I don't need help," Luke insisted. "I have much more stamina than an average human."

"Yes, and you've done more than would be physically possible for any other human being," Sarah Jane pointed out. "Let's not push it any more than we have to."

Alan helped Sarah Jane support Luke across the attic. Maria moved to open the door for them and then hurried down the stairs ahead of them. She opened Luke's door, too, for good measure, then clattered down to Sarah Jane's sink to rinse the welt on her hand. She speculated for a moment as she felt the water running over the burn. It felt weird, but it didn't hurt anymore.

_How did Luke manage to burn me? _she wondered, turning off the faucet and wiping her hand on her shirt. She sighed and shrugged to herself; maybe Mr. Smith would know. She headed back up the stairs and found her dad waiting for her on the landing.

"Hey, I'm heading home now, all right?" he said gently, clasping her shoulders. "I'll be right across the street if you need me."

"Okay, dad," said Maria, hugging him tightly. "I'll be back home as soon as we're sure everything's all right with Luke."

"Be helpful," said Alan, knowing he didn't have to worry about with Maria.

"I will," said Maria. Alan headed down the stairs and out the door, while Maria hurried up to find Sarah Jane.

She found her leaning against Luke's doorframe, looking tired, worried, and (for once) old. Maria, remembering her dad's words, took Sarah Jane's hand. "How is he?"

"I don't know," said Sarah Jane, staring into the middle distance. "There doesn't seem to be anything terribly wrong, but none of this has ever happened to Luke before." She looked down at Maria and smiled tremulously. "Do you know, I've never even had to take him to a doctor? The Bane must have enhanced his immune system when they created him. It's lucky, too - it would be difficult to explain his medical history."

"He's never even been sick before, then?" Maria asked.

Sarah Jane shook her head, smiling at the girl's surprise. "Never."

Maria laughed. "Maybe there isn't much at all wrong with him, then. Maybe it's just scaring him because none of this has ever happened to him before."

Sarah Jane looked encouraged at this suggestion. "Maybe you're right, Maria. Mr. Smith will know for sure. We should go check - I bet he's through processing by now."

The two of them hurried to the attic to talk to Mr. Smith.

***

"Analysis complete," said Mr. Smith as Sarah Jane and Maria opened the attic door.

The two of them picked around the wiring and electrical equipment strewn across the floor. "I'm going to have to get this fixed before something gets damaged," Sarah Jane commented absently, before turning to Mr. Smith. "Good. And?"

"I'm afraid you won't like my answer, Sarah Jane," said Mr. Smith. "I have bad news."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Über-brownie points to whoever spots the (admittedly obscure) reference to 3rd-Doctor-era Classic Who arc in this chapter! (Warning: if you haven't seen the arc in question, there's probably little or no chance you'd catch it...) Hint: it backs up the plot. Also, much technobabble! Yay!**

"What sort of news?" asked Maria quickly. Mr. Smith didn't often give warnings...

"Luke's condition was difficult to analyze," said the computer. "His results did not fit any normal pattern. It was difficult to even ascertain his species."

"My watch was having the same problem," said Sarah Jane. "But why? What's causing it?"

"I believe that Luke's genetic structure is deteriorating," said Mr. Smith simply.

There was a beat of silence, then both Sarah Jane and Maria said, "What?" at the same time.

"What does that mean?" asked Maria.

"Never mind that, what's causing it?" Sarah Jane cut her off.

"It means," said Mr. Smith calmly, "that Luke's genetic code has been rendered unstable. The overflow of raw telepathic energy has broken the lock on his helical stability. Luke was already especially susceptible to fluctuations of this kind, and the flow of energy from the activity of telekinesis caused the lock to break entirely, causing random genetic decay and the gradual release of a special type of bioelectric energy."

Maria still looked confused. "What...?"

"Luke's genetic code is decaying," said Sarah Jane, still staring wide-eyed at Mr. Smith. "I think the Doctor might have mentioned something similar happening once - "

"Yes, Sarah Jane," said Mr. Smith matter-of-factly. "However, that was a case of genetic deconstruction aimed at de-evolution. Here, the degeneration is much more gradual, but it is completely random."

"So it's not changing _into_ anything..." Sarah Jane said, her voice tight with trepidation.

"What is going on?" asked Maria shrilly.

"It's difficult to explain," said Sarah Jane distractedly. "It basically means that the code that keeps Luke's body in order is randomly changing."

"You mean pairs in his DNA sequence are just swapping out," Maria tried.

"Or disappearing entirely," Sarah Jane confirmed. "How did you - "

"We did a unit on genetic theory a few months ago. But aren't genetic changes what cause cancer?"

"Basically, yes," Sarah Jane admitted. "But for Luke the changes are much more rapid. His cells are degenerating from the inside out. Cancer's the least of our problems." She turned back to Mr. Smith. "But there has to be a way to reverse the damage?"

"As it was altered thousands of times by the Bane, Luke's DNA is particularly vulnerable to decay, but this also makes it more easy to reprogram. I can in theory send out an energy pulse reverting the coding to its proper state."

"That sounds like a simple fix," said Sarah Jane. "But what do you mean, 'in theory'?"

"Unfortunately, this method requires a complete transcription of Luke's original genetic code."

"You just took one," said Maria desperately.

"That scan was taken after the degeneration had begun," said Mr. Smith. "It is not a complete or error-free transcript, and as such is unsuitable for such a purpose."

"But you scanned Luke before!" said Maria. "When you were testing Luke's identity against Ashley's. Can't you use that data?"

Mr. Smith whirred for a few seconds, seeming to be trying to process Maria's question. Finally he answered tentatively, "I cannot find any record of such a scan."

"What?" said Maria, annoyed. "But - "

"At what time was this scan taken?" asked Mr. Smith.

"Sarah Jane hurried forward, tapping at the keyboard, and then recited a long string of numbers and commands that Maria guessed specified the date, her exact instructions, and other details.

Mr. Smith buzzed again. "No record of this type exists in my memory." He continued before Sarah Jane could protest. "Last comprehensive backup was several days before the scan. The data was likely lost in the crash."

"Well, is there any way to bring it back?" Sarah Jane cried.

"I'm not sure. It's possible that the data cannot be retrieved at all in the current state of my records."

Sarah Jane and Maria stared at the computer in consternation for a few moments. Then Sarah Jane nodded to herself.

"All right then. Maria, come with me. We need to talk to your father. Wait there, Mr. Smith." She swung open the attic door.

"What is _Dad_ going to do?" asked Maria, confused.

"See if that Armageddon virus is reversible," said Sarah Jane as they hurried down the stairs.

"But - "

"Look, we have to fix this as soon as possible in case something else happens. We'll worry about later later. Come on!" And they hurried down the stairs and out the door.

***

A few moments later, someone else entered the attic. "Mr. Smith, you're about to receive orders that will directly countermand your purpose to protect this planet from hostile intent."

The computer didn't seem surprised to see the newcomer. "I will not obey such orders," he answered calmly.

"That isn't enough." A pause. "Give me the controls to your main power drive. That should be enough to ensure nothing will happen to endanger the earth."

The computer considered for a moment. "Very well. Transferring all power flow to the auxiliary external maintenance cord."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: ...Um, okay, so it's been a while. Okay, no, way too long. I'm sorry! Hopefully it won't be this long of a wait again. Aaah I was at least trying to make this a Christmas present, but it appears it's slightly late for that too. Sorry! (And it's really short, too... T.T)**

**But I hope you like it anyway! (And look, I figured out how to use the line-y things!)**

**

* * *

**

Maria hurried in front of Sarah Jane to unlock the door to her house, but found it already unlocked. "Dad, we need your help!" she called as she pulled it open.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Alan called back.

Maria grinned. "It's like radar. Come on." The two of them hurried into the kitchen.

Alan was standing by the stove. "I was just making some tea," he said, looking up from the newspaper on the counter as they came in the kitchen. "Want some? There's enough for three."

Sarah Jane shrugged with the abrupt manner she always adopted when she was upset or in a hurry, but said, "Sure."

They sat down at the table, and a few moments later Alan set mugs of tea in front of them, taking a seat himself. "I was just about to come and check on you. How's Luke?"

"We've come to ask you for help with that, actually," said Sarah Jane.

"Me?" Alan raised his eyebrows. "What do I know that you don't?"

"Computers," said Sarah Jane grimly, "just like last time. That Armageddon virus – I need to know if it's reversible."

"Why?"

"Mr. Smith lost some data that we need to fix Luke," Maria jumped in. "We have to try to get it back." She wanted to add that she wasn't sure whether it was the best idea in the world, but now seemed an inappropriate time for sharing doubts.

Alan seemed surprised, and didn't speak for several moments. Maria took the opportunity to sip at her tea. "Well," he said finally, thinking it through, "the government was trying to figure out how to reverse the virus for a while." He stood up, pulling his computer from its place on the counter and opening it up. "I've been updating this lately," he said, tapping at keys and squinting at the screen. "And the fix they've been working on for the virus won't be under the same protection as the virus itself, so... Here it is."

He grabbed a scrap of paper from the table and started copying down numbers and computer coding. "They had it almost sorted before the cure was rendered unnecessary and abandoned," he said, not looking up. "If I give it to Mr. Smith, I bet he can figure out the rest of it. He's clever, right?"

"Of course he is," said Sarah Jane eagerly. She took one last gulp of her tea and set it down, standing up quickly. "Come on, we should get it to Mr. Smith right away."

"Um," said Alan, still clutching the scrap of paper as he followed the other two out the door. "I hate to be a stick in the mud, but...isn't that a bad idea?"

"Do we have a choice?" Sarah Jane asked rhetorically as they crossed the driveway at a run and hurried into her house. "Mr. Smith seemed to think that the rate of degeneration will increase exponentially. The sooner we can fix Luke, the better."

"But what if Mr. Smith – " Maria began.

"It doesn't matter!" Sarah Jane cried, then lowered her voice slightly. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It's best to only panic about one thing at a time."

Maria and Alan frowned at each other behind Sarah Jane's back, but followed her up the stairs without further protest.

"Mr. Smith – " Sarah Jane began as she stepped into the attic, and then stopped. "What on..."

Maria craned her neck to see over Sarah Jane's shoulder. Mr. Smith's components were in more disarray than they had been previously, but other than that she couldn't see –

"Sarah Jane," came Mr. Smith's voice, matter-of-fact as always, but slower and more deliberate than usual. "I am obliged to instruct you not to make no attempts to impart to me technical information of any kind without a clear declaration of its purpose first."

"W...what? What is this?" Sarah Jane demanded, stepping slowly further into the room. Maria and Alan edged their way in behind her, trying to see what was going on.

Maria's eyes widened as she suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the corner of the room. "Mr. Smith's diverted all his power to run through this line. If you try to do anything to to erase the effects of the Armaggeddon virus, I'll disconnect him. It would take weeks to get him working again, and by then it will be too late."

Hoping she was mistaken, Maria stepped out from behind Sarah Jane, and the figure came into clear view. Standing by Mr. Smith's console, holding a large and important-looking plug in his resolute hands and looking frightened but determined...was Luke.

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun dunnnnn! ...Ok, so the big reveal didn't really go as smoothly as I'd wanted it to. But I'd be curious to know who guessed who it was beforehand... ;) **

**The next wait won't be more than a year again, I promise!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey look, I'm back! Sorry for the delay...though I managed to avoid a year this time...but yeah, I'll try to keep working on chapters. Admittedly, it's kind of hard to keep writing SJA now, given Elisabeth Sladen (still shocking and horrible and tragic to think about, really)...but in the spirit of Sarah Jane and all the wonderfulness she stood for, I'll do it. In the meantime, this installment's a little bit different – have some confrontations and angst! Oh, and I have the ending written out now. I just have to get the in-between bits written. **

* * *

Maria hurried after Sarah Jane into the attic, shocked. "Luke, what's – "

"Mum was going to load the cure for the Armageddon virus onto Mr. Smith," Luke said, clutching the plug tightly in his fingers. "Weren't you?" he added accusingly to Sarah Jane. "But you can't, it isn't safe – "

"Luke, it's the only way–" Sarah Jane began.

"No!" Luke cried. "If you bring back the Xylok, he'll know to look out for the virus, even if you wipe him with it afterwards. He'll take precautions this time, and he'll try to blow up the world again. We might not be able to stop him a second time." He leaned against Mr. Smith's console as he spoke, his voice shaking slightly.

"I'm trying to help you," Sarah Jane pleaded. "If you heard us talking, you know how dangerous this is. I'm trying to save you!"

Luke shook his head. "I'm not going to let you risk the world to save me, mum," he said. "If you tell Mr. Smith to use those codes, you'll be directly countermanding his objective to protect Earth. If you try...I've convinced Mr. Smith to reroute all his power into the auxiliary power cords." He held up the two wires connected by a plug in a trembling hand. "If I unplug this, it'll take you at least two weeks to get Mr. Smith up and running again, and by then it'll be too late."

Sarah Jane shook her head, refusing to take in what he was saying. "Luke, you should be in bed – "

He grinned slightly, and Maria caught a glimpse of the ordinary Luke under all the fear and exhaustion. "I'm not a normal human," he said. "I'm stronger than I look."

Sarah Jane stared Luke down for a few more moments, then held out her hand to Maria's father. "Could you hand me the codes, please, Alan?" she asked.

Alan immediately handed them over, staring wide-eyed at the tableau. Sarah Jane purposefully took the coding in her hands and ripped up the pieces. Then she tossed them to Luke, tiny pieces of paper fluttering and settling around the attic.

Luke didn't bother to catch them, but stared at her. "We'll have to sweep that up now," he said, setting the plug carefully down in a groove along Mr. Smith's console, then leaning hard against its edge. Maria saw Luke's knuckles whiten.

She turned desperately to Sarah Jane. "What are we going to do now?"

Sarah Jane moved over to Luke and tactfully steered him to a couch, her arm around him. "Well," she said, thinking out loud, "I'm sure there's something we can do. "We just have to figure out what it is." Maria perched herself worriedly on the side of the couch, and Sarah Jane sighed. "You're right, Luke. It would be wrong to bring back the old Mr. Smith, but...there has to be an alternative somewhere."

"Well, let's think about this," said Maria. "What we need is some way to stabilize Luke's genetic code, right?"

"Not just that," said Sarah Jane. "We also need to return it to the way it was in the first place."

"The problem," Luke chipped in, "is that we no longer have the original version – it's been decaying randomly. So...we have to recover it somehow."

"Hang on," said Maria, her face brightening. "DNA's in all our cells, right? So, couldn't we just look for samples of Luke's cells that were taken before the whole thing started happening?" She paused. "Did that make any sense?"

"Actually, yes," said Sarah Jane. "Maria, fetch me Luke's comb and his toothbrush, will you? Ouch!"

Until then, Sarah Jane had been careful to touch Luke only through the fabric of his shirt, but as she had spoken, she'd absent-mindedly reached out to take his hand. As soon as she touched it, though, she pulled her hand away. Where she'd touched Luke, her skin was red and raw-looking.

"Sorry," said Luke wretchedly.

"Shouldn't he also burn the fabric or furniture or something?" Maria asked.

"I think Mr. Smith meant that the energy Luke is exhibiting is bio-electrical in nature."

"Meaning it burns skin?" said Maria.

Sarah Jane nodded. "Meaning it burns skin."

"I'll get a sweatshirt for Luke while I'm down there," said Maria.

"Sounds good," Sarah Jane said ruefully.

As Maria headed for the door, Alan caught her arm. "I'll let myself out," he said. "Let me know if I can help with anything."

"Of course," said Sarah Jane. "Sorry for kidnapping Maria like this."

Alan grinned. "You're welcome to her, I get enough of her at home."

"Dad!" Maria exclaimed with mock indignation as she followed Alan out the attic door.

Maria watched her dad clatter down the stairs and out Sarah Jane's front door. He seemed so...calm, like he thought this was something they handled very day. Did they really seem that confident to people like her dad?

After all, though, she reflected, it wasn't as though this was a crisis yet. The world wasn't in jeopardy this time, and they had some time left to solve this. So why didn't she feel at all at ease?

...Shaking her head at herself, she hurried down to fetch what she'd promised.

A few minutes later, she returned with a sweatshirt and Luke's toothbrush, brush, and comb.

"Why is your brush magenta?" she asked Luke jokingly as she tossed the sweatshirt to him.

Recognizing her attempt at cheering him up, Luke smiled. "It was Mum's. What's the point in buying one when I hardly use it anyway? Even if Clyde would laugh." He pulled the sweatshirt over his head, then tugged the sleeves over his hands as an added precaution.

Sarah Jane, meanwhile, had taken the other items off Maria's hands and was now giving them over to Mr. Smith for inspection.

"Reconstructing," he said simply.

Luke sat up suddenly. "I'm going to bed," he announced quietly, then walked out of the room, not meeting anyone's eye and shutting the door softly behind him.

Maria stared after him, surprised. "...I'd have thought he'd want to see how well Mr. Smith could do."

"It'll probably take a while," Sarah Jane pointed out, sighing a little. Neither of them addressed the question that passed between them silently as they wondered what was going through Luke's head at the moment.

* * *

Luke wasn't sure himself what was going through his head at the moment, but he still felt weak and tired, so he'd decided in a perfectly logical manner to follow his mum's advice and go to bed (unlike the last time, where he'd lied – something he still wasn't accustomed to – and sneaked back up to the attic to find out what was going on). His decision had nothing to do with the fact that he didn't have names for the different feelings running through him at the moment, nothing to do with the fact that he didn't know how to respond to the way Sarah Jane and Maria kept looking at him. Or, at times, kept _not_ looking at him.

He shut himself in his room and kept the lights off and the blinds closed, walking over to his bed and burrowing into it. He was still in his clothes. Lying down in jeans was uncomfortable, he noted clinically. He'd never really done it before. Come to think of it, he'd never really slept in the daytime, either. True, he and Sarah Jane would sometimes stay up late, occasionally with Maria and Clyde in tow, to observe some astronomical phenomenon through Sarah Jane's telescope, but they'd always just slept in afterwards, and that wasn't the same thing...and he was almost always up with the sun anyway.

He didn't regret what he'd prevented Sarah Jane from doing. He was absolutely sure it was the right thing. He knew what it felt like to believe oneself responsible for the potential downfall of the planet, and it was anything but pleasant – he never wanted to feel that again, let alone expose his guardian to the same feeling. It made no sense to risk the entire planet for the sake of an easy solution, not when there was the possibility of another way – even if they hadn't yet determined what that way might be.

_Genetic degradation_. He would hardly have believed it, he thought, staring blindly at the ceiling, if he'd been anyone else. But he was already a being cobbled together by alien technology from literally thousands of human beings, so on second thought it really wasn't that surprising. He was an artificial construct, built to play the role of a test subject. Maybe these new developments were inevitable, and the PHAROS headset and incidents with telekinesis were only partly to blame.

Maybe he just hadn't been built to last.

It would explain a great deal – the speed of his assimilation of knowledge, the fact that he was "born" an adolescent, his creators' scant, if not entirely absent, attention to his social programming... He wondered how long he'd been _made_ to live. Given the plans of the Bane, it wouldn't have needed to be long – a few years, at the very most. They could easily have accomplished the requisite modification of their drink's formula within six months, at an outside estimate.

The bad woman whose name he still couldn't remember had even already had that ring that had almost killed him. If it had been built with no other purpose in mind (which, admittedly, was an assumption without much basis), then what did it mean that, before he was even completed, she'd already had it on her finger?

Luke curled into a ball, hands over his ears for no reason he could determine. It wasn't as though someone was speaking these ideas to him; he was coming up with them himself. He wasn't used to having thoughts that he didn't want to – another thing that had never really happened to him before.

He really was inexperienced, he thought as he drifted off. After all, he was a short-term human...as Clyde would have put it, it came with the package.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, and before I forget...the obscure reference back in Ch. 8 was from the Classic Who arc _Inferno_. And on a technobabble-ish note...basically, Luke's body is releasing a special kind of energy that only causes damage to living cells...in case anyone was wondering. Which probably nobody was, but oh well. (Oh, and the "adversary" of the summary is supposed to be Luke. Or the return of the Zygon [no, wait, Xylok, thanks for the correction! Fixed now], whichever works. ...Hopefully saying that was redundant. XD)  
**


End file.
